This invention relates to container holding devices and more particularly, a device that not only allows containers to be held in an upright position but also an inverted position when necessary and as desired to make the contents of the container readily available for use.
When using most bottles or containers, whether such containers contain shampoo, hair conditioner, ketchup, liquid butter, or other liquid, it is often difficult to expel the contents. The bottle or container must often be held upside down and shaken for the contents to drain from the inside of the container to the spout to be available for use. The latter procedure takes patience and can be frustrating. Even when following such a procedure in most cases the entire residual contents of the container are not used and the container is thrown away, thereby wasting the residual contents. Although some bottles or containers have caps shaped so the bottle can be placed and held inverted so the contents are always available for use, most containers are made with rounded caps or dispensing nozzles, whether by design or otherwise so they will not remain in an inverted position during storage so the contents will be readily available for use.
Thus, a need exists for a bottle or container holding device that can hold a wide variety of shapes and sizes of containers in either an upright or inverted position to make the entire contents readily available for use when needed.
The prior art includes some inverted container holders, but none holds bottles or containers in either or both upright or inverted positions in a secure manner as does the present invention. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,193 issued to Coulter, et al. on Aug. 8, 1995, discloses an inverted container support which holds a container around the cap and has suction cups to hold it against the wall. However, the container can only be held in an inverted position and the holder does not provide any support for the body of the container, thereby making it susceptible to tipping. U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,009 issued to Ouellet, et al. on Dec. 30, 5 1997, discloses a holder which supports various sizes of bottles in an inverted position to collect the residual contents in the bottom of the cubical holder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,209 issued to Todd on Nov. 20, 1990 discloses another inverted bottle container holder having holes which wrap around only the bottle cap. U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,495 issued to Bale, et al. on Jan. 6, 1998, discloses a device for holding a plurality of the same size bottles in an inverted position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,904 issued to Hackley on Aug. 18, 1998, discloses a two piece holder for holding an inverted bottle with a bottom piece that holds the bottom around the cap and top funnel-like piece that supports only part of the body near the cap. U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,878 issued to Bologa on Jun. 9, 1981 discloses a holder that has an opening into which the top of an inverted bottle can be inserted and held in an elevated position so the contents can be drained into a container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,753 issued to Takei on Sep. 9, 1997, teaches another bottle holder for an inverted container which has an opening to hold a container in the cap. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,698 issued to Cristea, et al. on Sep. 14, 1999, discloses another inverted container holding device having two conical pieces.
Thus, although there are many patented devices for holding containers or bottles in an inverted position, none allows the bottles or containers to be held in either or both an upright or inverted position as needed and when desired in a secure manner as does the present invention.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a secure bottle and container holding device that makes the contents of the bottle or container readily available for use when needed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a device that eliminates waste by making the residual contents of a bottle readily available for use.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a device that allows a bottle or container to be held securely in either or both an upright or inverted position as desired during storage.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide such a device that can rest on a flat surface, such as counter or table, or be mounted to a vertical surface, such as a wall.
An even additional object of the present invention is to provide a bottle and container holding device that can hold a plurality of bottles and containers having different shapes and sizes.
An optional object of the present invention is to provide a bottle and container holding device that allows the residual contents of the bottle or container to be drained for use.
The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing bottle and container holding devices that have a base for maintaining the holder in a upright position, a top section having an opening into which a container is placed and held securely in either an upright or inverted vertical position, a back side which connects the base and the top sections and a front side for holding the bottle or container between the front and back sides. The base section may have an opening of sufficient size to retain a cap of a bottle and container when the container is in an inverted position. The back section may contain means for mounting the holder to a wall, those means consisting of foam wall mount tape, hook and loop fastening material, holes for screws and nails or other fastening means. The top section has an opening between a front and a back that is shaped to hold either a round or rectangular shaped bottles and containers. Although the front section may be incorporated as part of the top section, it may also comprise a curvilinear piece attached which extends vertically upward from the base section that is curved inward toward the back section so it acts as a leaf spring to hold a container firmly in place between the back and front sections of the device. The holding device of the present invention may be designed to hold only one bottle or container or to hold multiple containers of various sizes and shapes in various inverted and upright positions as necessary and depending on the contents. The present invention also provides for a drain tray to be held in the base section between a lower base plate and an upper base plate so that the cap can be removed and the residual contents drained into the tray for use.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.